Ken Elliott receives the Yoast Care fund for his contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Ken Elliott, a cherished member of the WordPress Community Team! His dedication and valuable contributions to the community are the very reason why Allie Nimmons nominated him for the Yoast Care fund. Let’s get to know this passionate WordPress enthusiast a bit better.

Nominator Allie Nimmons: “Ken has been a member of the BlackPress Slack since near the beginning. He has recently been brought onto the organizers’ team for his activity and energy around supporting and keeping the group alive. He’s stood out to the organizers in his eagerness to invest time and thought into how the group is run, actively supporting his community and making Slack a better place. Ken Elliott is the Professional Web Developer & Digital Brand Consultant for BKreative Media Solutions based in Columbia, South Carolina. He has over 25 years of experience in web development, social media, and online marketing and uses WordPress regularly for his business. He is the founder of a local creatives support group and co-organizer of a local WordPress Meetup chapter in Columbia, helping with BlackPress. He’s genuinely a fantastic part of this community and deserves to be recognized.”

Let’s get to know Ken Elliott

That’s quite an introduction, Allie! We would love to get to know Ken even better. That’s why we asked him some questions about his work and his passion for WordPress:

Hi, Ken! Why WordPress?

I came upon WordPress in 2008-2009, searching for a better automation solution to manage large amounts of stored data with a simplified backend. After fighting my traditional “using a CMS isn’t coding” mentality, I finally dove into WordPress development for all website projects in 2010.

Why did you start contributing? Could you share your first contribution with us?

I have always enjoyed sharing career opportunities with coding and development peers. In 2016, years before my first official contribution, I promoted the power of the WordPress community and invited them to attend upcoming WordCamps. My first official documented contribution to the community was emceeing at WordCamp San Diego in 2022.

What does WordPress look like in your perfect world?

The coding barriers are slowly dissolving with the Playground and Generative AI implementation. Hence, developer entry and productivity are getting easier and faster, respectively; both major pain points to website development careers. While there will be side effects, the gateway to development has never been more accessible.

What contribution or moment are you most proud of?

My proudest contribution is restarting the Columbia WordPress Meetup. Since WordCamp Atlanta in 2016, I have longed for a creative support meetup group in Columbia, SC. I’m grateful to Laura Hartwig for entrusting me to restart the Columbia meetups and to co-organizers Nyasha Green and Shambi Broome for helping to fulfill the vision.

What would you love to do in the future?  

I enjoy being a WordPress ambassador for community engagement and awareness. I have met many lifelong friends who have created collaborative opportunities for me and my freelance design business through WordPress. In addition, I want to continue creating opportunities for others interested in finding their developer community to grow into self-sufficient business owners.

Thank you for this interview, Ken, and for all of your contributions to the WordPress community! Do you know someone like Ken Elliott who also deserves to be in the spotlight? Go to our Yoast Care page and nominate them right away.